Trois
by Tripoli
Summary: A series of one-shots focusing on Cilan, Cress, and Chili, and their lives.
1. Fire

_So I recently got Pokemon White a few weeks ago, and I fell in love with it. Which means of course, I fell in love with these three. Now, I've noticed how bad I am when it comes to writing multi-chapter stories (and it's pretty bad), so I'm just going to do a bunch of one shots within a big story, so that way I can add without worrying about finishing it. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or the characters. But it would be cool._

Prompt: "It was burning even before I arrived".

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><p>The first thing Cilan noticed when he was suddenly awoken was the smell of something burning. In the fog of sleep he didn't think anything of it, instead trying to find the source of what woke him up. Glancing to his nightstand where his clock lay, he groaned when he noticed it was a quarter past three. He was a morning person, but not that extreme.<p>

"Cilaaan!" The yell startled him awake the rest of the way, the forgotten acrid smell invaded his nostrils again. Seconds later he realized it was his younger brother yelling for him, making him jump out of bed. "Cilan, get over here!"

"Chili? Chili where are you?" Cilan stood in his doorway, looking around the hallway for the source of his brother's voice and a possible fire. He didn't see any flames or smoke, but he proceeded down the hallway cautiously anyway, incase the fire was hidden within the bathroom or the other two bedrooms belonging to his brothers.

"Cilan hurry up!" Chili called again. This time Cilan could clearly tell his voice was coming from the first story, so he rushed down the stairs to find him.

"Chili what happened? C'mon, we have to get out of here before the fire gets worse!" Again he looked cautiously around him, looking for the fire. He didn't see it in the foyer, but saw black smoke billowing from the nearby kitchen.

"Just get over here! And hurry up will ya," Chili said back, his impatience showing. Cilan stepped slowly into the kitchen, prepared to come face to face with a raging fire and bravely pull his younger brother from it. "Cilan look! Isn't this awesome?"

A pot sat on the stove, fire rising from inside.

Cilan rubbed the bridge of his nose, frustration replacing his normally calm demeanor. It took a lot to make him angry, but his brothers, especially his younger one, surely knew how to do it.

Chili's Pansear was outside of his pokeball, standing next to the stove on the counter while clapping happily at the fire. Their other brother, Cress, was sitting in a chair by the table in the corner, looking tired and rather mad.

Grabbing the burning pot, he quickly dumped it in the sink along with it's unidentifiable contents, and hosed it down until the flames and smoke disappeared. He then turned to his brother, arms crossed and eyebrow raised.

"Chili, why was the pot on fire?" He asked. The grass leader was almost afraid to ask why, but he knew his brother would pester him until he did.

"Well, I woke up a little while ago and I was hungry, so I came downstairs to get a snack," he started. "I wanted something hot to eat, so I turned on the stove and put some things together to make in a pot." The red head beamed with pride at what he apparently thought was his genius at work. I've seen you do it all the time, so I thought it was no problem."

"Chili, how many times have Cress and I told you, not to use the stove unless we're there? You don't even know how to use it." It was a lecture the two had had to go through countless times before, given how reckless and careless Chili could be sometimes.

"That's what I tried telling him," Cress added in, which Chili chose to ignore.

"Well, you were just upstairs, so you were technically here…" A smug look on his face at what he thought was a clever comeback.

"That's beside the point. Right now it's almost three thirty in the morning. I think that counts as 'us not being there'."

"Doesn't matter. Any way," Chili replied, waving his head signaling the conversation change, "so I was boiling the stuff I had mixed together, and it was looking pretty good for a while. But then a bunch of black smoke starting coming up from the bottom."

"What was the temperature set as?" Cilan dared to ask. Chili looked back at the stove a second to check.

"Five hundred…" His cheerful face turned sheepish for a second, before reverting back to his big smile again. "Did'ja know it only took about a minute to boil? It's incredible! Why don't you ever turn it up that high? It would make cooking so much quicker!"

"You're not supposed to turn the stove top up that high unless what you're cooking specifically calls for it. The temperature is usually supposed to stay at 250 to 300 degrees to prevent burning," Cilan lectured. He was a perfectionist when it came to cooking, which was something his brothers hated and usually asked him to do it for them. He didn't mind, giving cooking was one of his favorite hobbies, and was his usual job in the restaurant anyway. To see cooking gone so horribly wrong (Cilan didn't even think it could go as bad as this), he felt a personal shame to see his own brother mangle what he considered to be art.

"Tell that to Chili and his impatience," Cress shot. Chili glared at him, but didn't bother to say anything back.

"Cooking is all about patience," Cilan said, his eyes going bright. He was always passionate about his hobbies, almost to the point of obsession. "If you try and rush whatever you are making, then it will go wrong and-"

"Yeah yeah, I wasn't making a "fancy dish", I was just trying to make a quick snack to eat and then go back to bed," Chili snapped back. It didn't take much to trigger his infamous temper.

"That's besides the point," Cilan interjected, trying to stop a potential fight. He was a bit of a pacifist and didn't like when he brother got mad and yelled at something/someone. Cress especially was the target of his fights; the oldest triplet's apathy and stubbornness clashed with youngest triplet's enthusiasm and lack of focus. Mild and quiet Cilan was usually the one who had to intervene and stop them when the got really nasty. "That still doesn't answer my original question. Why is the pot on _fire_?"

"Oh, well, I'm not really sure why it happened." Chili, said, shrugging his shoulders. "The pot was smoking for a while, until the stuff I put in there started turning back. Then they just sort of… Randomly burst into flames I guess."

Cilan almost smacked himself in the face. The youngest was usually clever, but sometimes lacked common sense. "Chili, the black smoke means something is _burning_…"

"I didn't know. I thought that it was supposed to do that. Besides, everything was in water, so I didn't think a fire would start in it."

"Wait, what did you put in the pot?" Cilan looked around the counter and noticed several food ingredients from cabinets and the pantry that had been brought out. He cringed at the mess, hoping he didn't have to be the one to clean it up.

"A bunch of stuff," Chili said, counting off of his fingers. "Some apples, an orange, peppers, noodles, a bunch of those seasoning things you keep in that rack. Stuff like that."

"Okay, I get it, you used a lot of stuff," Cilan said, as he felt a headache starting to form. He was trying to mentally calculate how much it was going to cost to repair everything that Chili had used to make his "concoction". "But none of those are very flammable, especially with the water. You sure there wasn't anything else you put in there?"

"Well…" Chili scratched his head, looking almost nervous to answer. "I used that cooking spray you keep in the pantry. You always spray pots and pans before you use them, so I thought that was something you were supposed to do and did that."

"But… That still doesn't make a fire just start by itself…" Cilan looked around the kitchen, trying to find a plausible answer. He always liked playing detective. Searching the counters, he looked though the mess until he pulled out the culprit.

A charred rag stuffed in a box of corn starch.

"Chili, _why…_" Leaving a rag on a hot substance was one of the first things you ever learned with cooking, and a rookie mistake. The teen was sure his brother was smarter than to do something like that, but now he thought wrong.

"The smoke was starting to get everywhere, so I covered it with a rag to make it stop. It was working well until it just caught on fire, and then the cooking spray caught on fire too and I couldn't make it stop. It looked awesome though." The proud smile once again returned.

Cilan then turned to his other brother in the corner. "And where were you during all of this? Why didn't you deal with it, you were here before I was."

"The smell woke me up, so I went downstairs to see what was wrong, since the fire alarm is broken." Chili looked away, red, as it was he who told his Pansear to knock it down. "It was burning even before I arrived, which was five minutes before he called you."

"So, why did you call me then? You or Panpour could of put it out without any problem," Cilan said. His brothers were too much sometimes.

"Why? It wasn't my problem, so I shouldn't have to put it out. I told him to do it," Cress said coldly, crossing his arms. Cilan had to refrain from rolling his eyes. The middle triplet didn't understand his logic or odd moodiness sometimes.

"Right… Well, it's late, and we have challengers tomorrow," Cilan couldn't help but smile, "Hope you have fun cleaning up this mess and getting up tomorrow, because you have a challenge scheduled at eight tomorrow, and right now it's almost four."

"What? Why do I have to clean this up? Can't you help?" Chili was in disbelief, though from what Cilan wasn't sure.

"Because, I didn't have the idea to cook something at three o' clock in the morning. Now, goodnight." Cilan turned and left, Cress following behind him, leaving Chili standing in the middle of the kitchen surrounded by his mess.

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><p><em>Well, first chapter is done. I'm pretty cool with how they came out; a little different then how I planned but I still like it. I hope you do too, so review and tell what you like or don't like!<em>


	2. Purrloin

_Chapter two is complete. Ta-da! Anywho, right now I kind of have mixed feelings about chapter 1. I never write humor, and obviously when I do, it sucks. So I'm trying this theme (I was planning on doing a bunch of themes and times anyway) so we'll see how it goes._

_Note: This takes place when they're five._

On nice days, Cress liked to sit and play in the sandbox with his Pokemon action figures. They were really Pokedolls, which his younger brothers liked to tease him about frequently, but the oldest decided that sounded too girly and since then called them action figures.

He was building a rather big fortress out of sand to protect his Oshawott action figure when he heard one of his younger brothers calling for him.

"Cress!" He looked up, and saw Chili jumping up and down, trying to get his attention. "Cress, come over here!"

"Chili, I'm in the middle of something important," Cress said, continuing to build up his sand fortress.

"But it's important!" By then the red head had ran up and was standing next to the sandbox. Cress tried to ignore his presence, hoping he would go away. The water Pokemon in the fortress were depending on him, after all.

"If it's important, then get Mom or Cilan to help you," Cress said.

"Mom's never home anymore. You have to!" Chili leaned down and grabbed onto Cress' arm, trying to pull him up and out of the sandbox. Cress was slightly stronger, however, and shrugged him off. "Cress, it's really important. Please?"

"…Fine," Cress sighed, finally giving in when he looked up and saw the hurt look on his brother's face. "What could possibly be so important?" He loved his brothers dearly, but he hated when they tried to pester him.

Chili's facial expression didn't lighten up as Cress had predicted, which caused him to worry a bit. It wasn't often the energetic youngest triplet was upset for so long about something.

"Something's wrong with Cilan. I think it's something bad." Those words caused Cress to jump up from the sandbox, grab his brother's hand, and head off in the direction he had originally come from.

"Where is he?" Cress asked, realizing that he had no idea where he really was.

"In the woods."

"Wait, the place Mom, Dad, and I always tell you two to never go unless one of us is there with you?" His only response was Chili looking away in shame. "It's dangerous to go out there! That's where wild Pokemon always like to stay! Is that what happened to Cilan?"

Chili nodded. "We were playing Pokemon Ranger in the woods, when Cilan tried to get a Purrloin. It didn't look mean, honest, but when he got near, it just jumped up and attacked him. I didn't know what to do so I went and got you."

Cress wanted to smack his brothers upside the head for their stupidity and their lack of listening. "Well I see him over there, so let's see what's wrong."

He found the middle brother in a clearing in the nearby woods of their house, sitting on the ground crying, occasionally muttering something inaudible. Cilan had a few scratches on his face and arms, and was covered in a layer of mud, but otherwise seemed fine. Cress approached him and knelt down next to him, along with Chili, and put on the kindest big-brother face that he could.

"Hey, you alright?" Cilan looked up, tears still rolling down his face. Getting a closer look, Cress could now see that he was sporting a bloody nose, though the injury was relatively minor, and had already stopped bleeding.

"I just wanted to play with him, I wasn't going to hurt him," Cilan said, his voice still wavering from when he was crying. "Why did he attack me?"

"Maybe he thought you were trying to attack you," Cress offered. "Professor Juniper says Purrloin can be kind of mean."

'Well, that one was really mean," Cilan said, wiping his tears away with his sleeve. "How'd you know I was here?"

"Chili ran over to the house to tell me. He was worried about you, you know," Cress said. He had been pretty worried himself, but he chose to avoid saying it. His brothers needed someone strong to look up to after all, right?

"His nose asploded," Chili commented, face scrunched in disgust.

"Right…" He had to admit, his brother's choice of words to describe what happened was unique. "Okay Cilan, let's get you back home and cleaned up."

Grabbing Cilan's hand, Cress helped his brother up on his feet. The green haired child didn't let go, too afraid that the Purrloin would come back and attack him again. So Cress let him hold on to his hand, just for this one time. He couldn't let his brothers know he was turning soft on them, after all.

"Cress when we back, can you play Pokemon Ranger with us?" Chili asked, hope in his eyes. "You can be the Pokemon."

"No." The oldest sibling was much too old and refined to play such childish games with his brothers. Besides, the water Pokemon fortress needed protecting from the evil electric enemies that were trying to attack and take over.

Out of the corner of his eye Cress saw the Purrloin gazing at the three of them cautiously, four smaller pairs of eyes peeking out from under her. _She has babies… Who would have guessed?_

Back at the house, Cress was trying to get one brother in the tub, while wrestling the other to sit still for five minutes so he wouldn't wreck the whole house. It was proving to be rather difficult; once he got one a hold of one of his brothers, the other one slipped away and had to be caught again.

With threats of being locked in the closet if they didn't behave (the two younger five year old triplets were still afraid of the dark), Cress managed to get Cilan in the tub and Chili to sit still next to him.

"Hold still," Cress muttered, trying to keep Cilan still as he tried to wash his face.

"But it hurts!" Small bruises were starting to form where the Purrloin had bit his face.

"If you keep moving around while I do this, it'll hurt more," Cress threatened. It shut Cilan up, allowing the oldest to quickly clean up the small wounds and wash away the remnants of his bloody nose. "There. That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Cress never understood why his two brothers hated taking baths, or even being around the tub. The blue haired child loved water and everything to do with it. And once he dried Cilan off and dressed him in fresh clean clothes, he and Chili scrambled out of the room.

"Don't go in the woods this time!" Cress yelled out to them, but they didn't listen. And never listened, it seemed.

Cress was about to return to the sandbox when Cilan returned back to his side.

"Is something else wrong?" Cress asked, confused. He had expected the two to be right back outside playing Ranger again.

What he wasn't expecting, was a hug. The oldest never was much for physical contact, but he returned it to make his brother happy. He always was rather clingy, but he was sweet. "Thank you Cress," Cilan said, pulling away and flashing him a big smile. "You're the best big brother ever!"

Cress couldn't help but smile. Being the oldest did have its advantages.

_There ya go. I'm currently playing around with the theory that their parents left them at a young age (I see it quite often) so we'll see how that goes. _

_And an important note: Each of these one shots is completely independent, and almost always do not affect other ones._


	3. Leader

_Chapter 3 is here guys. 'Nuff said._

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><p>"I don't know, Chili, we're busy enough as it is with the restaurant…"<p>

"Aw lighten up Cress. We're barely making enough money for to support one of us, let alone all three. Gym leaders make three times as much as we are right now! Besides, our Pokemon are great at battling, and they'll love it as well."

"Having more money is pointless if you are too busy or exhausted to be able to use it. That, and there can't be three gym leaders at once. Don't you know anything about how gyms work?"

Chili was following his oldest brother as he weaved between the tables of their restaurant, which had just opened two months ago. Cress was trying to lose his brother so he could focus on work in peace, but the enthusiastic fourteen year old wouldn't budge.

"You like math stuff; look at the facts. Business is down and hasn't been picking up for a few weeks now, the rent is due in two weeks, and Cilan's Connoisseur school and licensing costs aren't going to wait forever to be paid. It's now or never Cress, and this is perfect!"

Cress stopped and turned to Chili, giving him a stern look. "How do you know all that? Cilan and I are the ones who stay up half the night going over our finances while you snore. Last I checked you didn't care about that 'math stuff' anyway."

"I overheard you guys talking about it one night when I got up to get some water. You sounded upset, so I guess I sorta… Hid and listened in a bit," Chili admitted. It wasn't something he could easily forget; seeing his oldest brother cry for the first time in years was shocking. It was that moment that Chili had decided to devote his extra time in finding a better way to make ends meet.

"It's rude to eavesdrop on conversations like that, especially important ones," The oldest reminded, turning back around and serving a nearby table water. Cress had always been the type of person to keep to himself; clearly shown now by his insistence to quiet Chili and avoid him whenever he brought up personal family matters around customers. The red head wouldn't put up with it; he wanted to say his opinion now, and get his way.

"This deals just as much with me as it does with you and Cilan," Chili replied. "Does the term 'triplets' ring a bell?"

"Does the phrase, 'That requires math, I don't want to do it' right a bell?" Cress countered, grabbing a glass from a couple's table to refill it.

"Touché…" Chili muttered, slightly annoyed. "Still, that doesn't mean that I have to be totally in the dark about everything. I'm in this family too, and I deserve to know what's going on. And my ideas should be considered!"

"No, Chili, and that's the end of discussion. Now get back to work; there are customers by the window who still haven't been served." Cress walked off before he could say anything else, leaving Chili to stand there with his moth frozen open in what was his reply.

The youngest triplet couldn't help but hate his brother at that moment. Shortly after the restaurant had opened, the blunette had turned cold and nasty towards the two. He had been cold before then, as it was just his personality, but not as severe, and he still showed he cared and was more open to them instead of keeping all of his secrets to himself.

Now Cress avoided his brothers when he got the chance, and spent most of his time dedicated to the restaurant in some way. Chili and Cilan had both tried to get him to open up and ask him what was bothering him, but Cress just insisted that he was busy and the restaurant required a lot of work. Which was true, but work didn't consist of watching infomercials at three am.

Chili wasn't stupid; he knew how stressed out Cress was, and how poorly he handled it sometimes. His temper was almost as bad as Chili's himself in fact, but Cress had the ability to keep it in check better and could hide his emotions well.

That was why Chili wanted to take over the gym in the first place.

With Cress gone and effectively hiding from him, Chili decided to talk to Cilan about it. He was nicer, and was usually open to new ideas. If Chili could get him to join up on his ideas, then Cress would have no other choice than to take their side, right?

Quickly serving the few tables he was assigned their lunch so Cress wouldn't yell at him, he went to find Cilan. He worked in the back rooms in the kitchen, away from everyone else. He didn't mind of course, given he was a shy and awkward person by nature and would probably scare away the customers. Chili and Cress just liked that it meant that they didn't have to cook.

"Hey Cilan, you have a minute?" Cress called as he pushed through the door to the kitchen. The two others on Cilan's cooking staff looked over with curiosity, but didn't say anything. Chili liked to bus his brothers often during work.

"I'm a little busy at the moment Chili, but sure," Cilan said as he chopped vegetables that Chili couldn't identify. Throwing them in a pot on the stove, he turned to him. "What's up."

"I have the biggest and coolest idea ever that we can do," Chili said, clasping his hands in excitement of merely thinking about his idea. "You're gonna love it when you hear it. You ready?"

"Sure, what is it?" Cilan said, humoring his brother.

"Well, yesterday I saw this flyer in town that said the Striaton gym leader was retiring, and the Pokemon League was looking for a new one to replace it," Chili said. "And well, I was thinking that maybe we could do it! They make tons of money a year, and it looks fun too."

"I dunno Chili…"

"It's an awesome idea! Our Pokemon beat everyone who comes here and asks to battle us. They can beat trainers no problem!" Chili showed Cilan his Pokeball, which had small scorch marks from his Pansear's training, to prove his point.

"What about the restaurant?"

"Well two of us can continue running it while the other goes to the gym and battles there. I've already planned this all out last night, Cilan."

"And which one of us will be the gym leader, given we actually get the position in the first place? Plus, our restaurant is understaffed and struggling enough as it is. With on of us gone, it could put our business in jeopardy."

"I told you before! Gym leaders make a bunch of money, so we can hire more staff to cover us so we don't have to work twelve hours a day anymore! And for the gym leader position, well… I was kind of hoping that I would be able to do it…"

Cilan sighed as he crossed his arms, leaning against the counter. "… I'll think about it. Talk to me this evening about it. In the meantime, did you ask Cress about it?"

"Yeah, a few minutes ago. He didn't like it, but he's always in a bad mood and doesn't like anything. So he doesn't count."

Cilan cracked a small smile at the last comment. He had also noticed the drastic change in their older brother, and the increase of fights between oldest and youngest that peacekeeper Cilan had to break up.

"Right… I should be finished up at around six, so come by here around then. I won't guarantee an answer you like, though," Cilan warned, before turning back to the soup he was preparing.

Had Chili been in a better mood he would of taken that as a small victory, but his brothers' hesitance about his idea was frustrating. It was the perfect idea, after all, that would solve all their problems. They would have money, wouldn't have to work all day, and actually have free time. So there were a few minor kinks he had to work out; they were tiny and could be easily worked out.

There was no other option at the moment than to wait six hours for Cilan to be ready. Which would take a while.

Or, he could create his own option and go to the gym apply to be the gym leader himself. Chili liked his own option better.

So when Cress had disappeared into the kitchen to grab food to serve to a table, Chili snuck out the door and out of view from the front windows of the small restaurant. Before hand he had calculated how far away the gym was and how far it would take to get there, apply to be leader, and come back home before Cress noticed his absence. Or tried to anyway.

"It won't take that long," Chili told himself, as he left for the direction of the gym. "By the time they'll notice, I'll be back and telling them the great news!"

The gym was only a ten minute walk, five blocks away from the restaurant. Cress had purposely planned the location to be nearby when trainers finished a match and wanted to celebrate with a 'victory meal', and Chili couldn't be more thankful.

There as no one around at the entrance of the gym, something Chili found rather strange. It was a lot of trainers' dreams to one day become a gym leader, and opportunities like these didn't happen often and caused trainers everywhere to flock and try to get the position.

"I hope they didn't pick someone already…" Chili said.

Once inside the building, he found a tall red head standing behind a desk, looking through a small stack of papers in his hands. Next to him was a lady with big bushy blond hair, looking around the room with a look of disgust.

"Uh, excuse me…" Chili said, trying to get their attention. They looked over to him, making him feel uncomfortable. Their stares made him feel as if they were sizing him up for lunch. "Is the gym position still open? I was hoping to apply for it…"

"Hello, my name is Alder. I'm the champion of the Unova Region." Alder stood up and extended his hand, grabbing Chili's. He cringed; his hand shake felt like it would brake his hand. "And this is Caitlin, she's also part of the Elite Four."

Caitlin also stood up and shook hands, but gave Chili a similar look that she had given the room. "And you are?"

"Chili." He didn't care about introductions, he just wanted to be a gym leader.

"Nice to meet you Chili. Now I'm not sure if you are familiar with the past gym leader or not, but he chose to battle with three main types. Fire, water, and grass. It's a Unova Region tradition that the first gym specialize in those three types, which of course means your prerequisite is that you do to. So, may we see your Pokemon?"

Chili's heart fell at that statement. A 'Unova Region Tradition'? He vaguely remembered being younger and Cilan talking for days about the whole history of Straiton City. Something about ancient festivals being carried on to today; Chili never really listened.

"I… have a Pansear…" Pulling his Pokeball out from his belt, he called his Pokemon out. The fire money appeared on the ground, looking pumped.

"Is that all?" Alder said, looking slightly disappointed. Caitlin tried to hide her laughter, which sounded a bit like a Swinub snorting. Pansear's face fell, not liking the looks of contempt the two elite trainers were giving him.

"Uh, yeah…" Chili couldn't find any words to say; his mind was too clouded with embarrassment and rejection.

"Look Chili, I'm sure your Pansear is strong and would make an excellent Pokemon for a leader, but the Unova trad-"

"My brothers have water and grass types," Chili blurted out. He would die if he had to hear about the 'Unova tradition' one more time.

"That's nice."

"No, I mean we could be gym leaders together. My brothers and I, we're triplets, and do everything together."

"It's always been customary that a region has eight gym leaders. I'm not sure if we can allow that Chili…" Alder said. He looked intrigued about the idea however, and Chili saw his chance. The red head was skilled at persuasion.

"We could battle one on one depending on what starter they choose. It'll give them a type disadvantage and make them have to work harder to get a badge," Chili said. "And non starter users can just choose whichever one of us they want to battle against."

"Hm… I don't see too much of a problem with it. How about you, Caitlin?" Alder and Chili looked up to the blonde.

"Only if they're strong and worthy enough to be a gym leader," she said.

"Fair enough," Alder said. "Are your brothers nearby so we can talk to them?"

"They're working right now…" Chili said. "They won't be available until late today. Is it possible to bring them in tomorrow?"

"That sounds good. We'll see you then."

As Chili was walking back to the restaurant, he could feel the sense of apprehension returning. The hardest part was convincing his brothers, especially Cress, to go along with his plan.

Chili still hadn't planned out exactly how they were going to work both the restaurant and the gym at the same time. Especially now that they were all three going to be leaders, and had to stay close to the gym at all times for challengers instead of just one.

He thought about it on the way home, but the options he came up with weren't very pleasant. Going back and forth to the restaurant and gym would take too much time, there were no available spaces to move it closer to the gym to make the first option easier, and he certainly didn't want to close the business down altogether.

At least they didn't have to worry about arguments over who did what in the gym. The three were used to sharing everything, having done it for most of their lives. For them, not having to share something was foreign and almost frowned upon by the other two. Now that he thought about it, Chili felt a bit guilty about how he originally wanted to be the gym leader himself and leave his brothers to work in the restaurant without him. It wouldn't be very fun either.

Chili continued to brainstorm until he stepped through the door into the restaurant and, just his luck, Cress. His older brother looked furious.

"And where have you been?" Cress asked. His arms were folded as he leaned against the table. His face and tone made him were nonchalant, but Chili could see the hidden fury in his eyes. "You've been gone for almost an hour. Care to explain?"

"Can we talk about this later?" Chili didn't want to tell him the news when his brother was angry. "I just had to do something, that's all."

"How about now. What was the oh-so-important thing you had to do while in the middle of working?" Cress said. "Or were you just slacking off again?"

"I… had to give this kid her hat that she left here yesterday," Chili said. It was partly true anyway. Someone did leave their hat… That was later used for target practice for Pansear. "She looked really upset about losing it, so I looked all over town looking for her to return it."

"You're lying."

Cress always could tell when one of his brothers was lying… "No I'm not. You should have seen her crying yesterday, I just had to help her out."

"Chili, you never do anything unless we make you or you get something out of it in return," Cress said. "Want to tell me what you were really doing?"

"Alright, alright. I went to check out the gym," Chili said. "And guess what? I talked to the two there, and they said that if he thinks we're good enough, then all three of us can be gym leaders at the same time! Isn't that awesome?"

"I thought I told you we're not doing it?" Cress said. His voice was ever calm, which always freaked Chili out. And apparently freaked out the customers in the restaurant too, who were now staring at them and whispering to themselves.

"I know, but I honestly think this thing will work out great," Chili said, trying to get his point across. The argument was bad enough the first time. "Please, Cress, just give this idea a chance. It'll work out in the end, I promise."

Cress was silent for a moment, looking like he was thinking about the plan. Chili crossed his fingers behind his back in hopes he would agree. "…If you can get everything done and manage to make this gym leader plan work, then we can," Cress finally agreed. "I'll help out if you need it, but you're the one who has to do it."

"Really? Aw, thank you Cress, thank you!" Chili pulled his brother into a tight hug, who awkwardly returned it. "You won't be disappointed, I promise!"

Racing across the room (quickly followed by Cress telling him not to run indoors), Chili burst through the kitchen doors and to his other brother Cilan.

"Cilan, guess what?" Chili exclaimed. Cilan had finished the soup from earlier was now working on preparing a salad.

"What's that?" Cilan asked.

"Cress said yes!" Chili was practically jumping up and down in excitement.

"Said yes about… being a gym leader?" Cilan really had no idea what he was so excited about. "I thought you said he said no?"

"Nope. Well, yeah, he did at first, but I went over to the gym to talk to the guys there, and they said we can all be gym leaders! We just have to go again tomorrow so he can check out our Pokemon and see if we're good enough."

"Will we be?" Cilan asked, his voice unsure. The trio hadn't had their Pokemon long, just over a year. They had gotten poke balls from a contest drawing, and went out and caught them.

"I think so. We're the only trainers they have found that specialize in the specific types they're looking for. Something about some stupid tradition." Chili shrugged. "I showed Alder my Pansear, and he seemed to like him. I think we have a good chance."

"Well, in that case, I'm sure being a gym leader will give life and interesting spice to it," Cilan said, pulling out his own poke ball from his belt. "I'm sure Pansage will agree too."

"Yeah, It'll be awesome! Just be ready to go to the gym at around noon tomorrow. Alder wants to meet you two."

That night, Chili could barely sleep he was so excited. The red head couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if they became gym leaders, and what it would be like. The trainers they had battled in the past were mediocre at best; Chili wanted to be able to battle strong trainers who used actual strategy with their Pokemon.

He had also spent the night fine tuning his plan, and how he could make it work perfectly without having to make any major changes. It would take some time and heavy work to do, but Chili decided the gym was big enough that they could revamp it. The front half could be turned into the restaurant, which could then open up and lead to the battle field. The second floor could then be turned into a small apartment that they could share, which would cut costs of having to pay a rent.

The rest of the morning went by slow, as Chili counted down the minutes until he could go back to the gym and meet with Alder and Caitlin again. He frequently reminded his brothers that they had to get ready and leave before noon in order to get there in time, who waved him off with a "We know, you told us" before going back to work.

When the clock by the door turned to a quarter 'til twelve, Chili stopped what he was doing and dragged Cress and Cilan out the door, who had barely enough time to finish their work, tell the staff what to do, and get ready.

"This is gonna be awesome you guys, just you wait, you'll love it," Chili said. He went through explaining all of his plans for the gym and everything he was going to do, as his brothers patiently listened to him chatter.

The gym was once again empty like before, save for Alder and Caitlin. The two noticed the trio walk in, and stood to greet them.

"Ah, Chili, nice to see you again. I see you've brought your brothers," Alder said, looking between the other two.

"Yep! Alder, meet Cilan and Cress," Chili said, pointed to each of them as he named them off. Alder shook hands with each of them; Cress professionally, Cilan awkwardly.

"Nice to meet you two. I'm Alder, as Chili said." He gave them a warm smile. "Before I can actually title you a gym position, I need to see your Pokemon."

Chili, Cress, and Cilan pulled out their Pokeballs from their belt, letting out their Pokemon; the elemental monkeys crying out as they were let out of their Pokeballs and appeared on the ground. Alder knelt down to their level, looking the three Pokemon over.

"Hm, they look pretty good…" Alder stood back up to face the triplets. "As you are applying for ownership of the first listed gym, no battling is required. All that is needed is a few forms that need to be filled out, and an officiate of the Pokemon League will observe your gym for a few months to decide if you are well enough to handle the gym."

"That sounds alright," Chili said, already getting pumped about future battles. "Just show me the paper work and I'll fill it out."

Alder reached to the table he and Caitlin were sitting at earlier, and pulled out a small stack of papers. "Just read these and sign where it says. It's relatively simple."

Cress grabbed the paper stack before Chili could. "You have to actually read these before you sign it," Cress said to Chili.

"I was going to," Chili said back, but Cress was right. All the red head wanted to do was sign the papers as quickly as possible so he could just get the gym.

"Gym leaders are required to accept a trainer's challenge unless a serious emergency prevents them from doing so… Gym leaders are required to take action if the police force of that town requests their assistance… Leaders must oversee activity in the town and work alongside with the mayor if requested…" Cress flipped through the four pages, looking over the rules and regulations required for a gym leader.

"They don't seem that bad," Cilan commented, as he leaned over Cress' shoulder to read the papers. "Striaton's a quiet city."

"They seem fair enough," Cress said, flipping to the back page, which contained lines for signatures. "I don't see any problem with them."

Smiling, Alder handed Cress a pen, who wrote out his name in neat handwriting and passed the pen and paper to Cilan. The middle triplet wrote his name in similar fashion, and passed them to Chili, who just scribbled his name on the line.

"Well, congratulations you three. You are now the official gym leaders of Striaton City!" Alder reached and shook hands with them, giving them each individual congratulations. "And, as I might add, the first gym to house three leaders."

Alder then gave them another stack of papers to sign, telling them that the gym was under their care, and that anything they did to it was their responsibility. Chili received two looks from his brothers when he said that, and could only shrug and give a sheepish smile.

After signing the papers, Alder handed Cress the key to the gym and bade them good bye and good luck, before he and Caitlin left. Chili threw his arms around Cress' and Cilan's shoulders, pulling them towards him.

"Well brothers, we did it. Only fourteen years old, and already we own a restaurant, are gym leaders, and we did it by ourselves."

* * *

><p><em>And there's Chapter three. Again 'nuff said.<em>


	4. Crush

Wow, has it been forever or what? I've been wanting to continue this for a while, and this idea just randomly popped into my head. Well, not really an idea so much as the fact that I wanted a slightly darker chapter, because not everything in life can work out perfectly.

Also, sorry it's so short. Making it any longer would seem to be forcing it, and that's no good.

This has heavy influences on the anime. Pretty AU as well. Very angsty as well, be warned. Please do enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Good morning, Cilan."<p>

Cress took a seat at the table, careful of the distance between him and his green haired brother. Anything less than at least six feet away caused the teen to have a panic attack. Chili and Cress could sometimes manage five feet on one of his "good days", but those were unpredictable and few and far between.

"The nurse says you haven't been eating lately." And it was starting to show. All three of them had always been on the thin side, but the gown he was dressed in hung off his shoulders more than it did last time he visited. Next time he would have to bring him something to eat from home.

The eldest triplet longed to be able to reach out and at least take Cilan's hand, both for his brother's reassurance and his own but knew from past experience that doing that was a bad idea. His middle brother had been causing him nothing but constant worry and despair. Ha, and he thought Chili would be the one to put him in an early grave with his antics.

Cress leaned over as slowly as possible, as not to startle him, to see what he was doing. It was a puzzle this time, and a hundred piece one at that. Last he had heard, Cilan couldn't even finish one with twenty-five pieces. The nurses were becoming more confident that there was no brain damage now that he seemed to be making some progress. At least no major effects, anyway.

"I'm sorry Chili couldn't make it out this time. He wanted to, but you know how busy it gets at the gym this time of year. Between that and the restaurant, we couldn't manage with both of us leaving. He should be visiting sometime in the next few weeks hopefully. It's just so difficult to make it out here."

He still didn't know why the doctors wanted to keep Cilan so far away in Castelia City. What was wrong with the hospital in Striaton? It wasn't like they had top notch superior hospitals that didn't exist anywhere else. Cress knew the move would be stressful and potentially damaging for Cilan's now fragile mind, but he was sure there were ways to make it easy.

At least that way, he and Chili could see their brother more often instead of on a twice a month basis.

Cress inched forward another couple inches, causing his brother to glance up through his messy hair and stiffen. Guess he was nearing the six foot personal barrier then. He shrunk back to his original spot; there was no need to cause another incident like last time.

"Ash and Iris have been worried about you as well," Cress continued. The blue haired triplet didn't know if Cilan was listening or could even comprehend what he was saying. Regardless, he spoke anyway, if only to rest his own worries and hear himself talk. "They left a while ago, but I talked to them over the phone just the other day. They miss you a lot. Ash says his journey isn't the same without you."

Secretly Cress blamed them for this whole ordeal, but that was something he kept in that dark spot in the back of his mind. Cilan didn't need any more negative things to impact his life.

"Your Pokemon miss you too. Stunfisk is picking fights with Chili's Pansear, and Dwebble and Pansage have been moping around. I'd bring them in, but this hospital has some kind of no Pokemon policy. Stupid, I know. It's impossible to even sneak them in. Chili tried once and he wasn't even allowed in."

What kind of place didn't allow Pokemon? Cress hated Castelia City, with its cold, emotionless, and impersonal atmosphere. Nothing like their own Striaton City.

Glancing over, he saw that Cilan hadn't made much progress on the puzzle. Whether it was from himself being there or some kind of mental difficulty Cress didn't know (and he didn't think he wanted to, either). He reached over to help put a piece in place, but immediately retracted his hand when he notice his brother shying away.

If he could, Cress would drop everything to take care of Cilan himself. The restaurant and gym weren't the same without the famed _triplet _brothers running them. Hell, he would undo the past two months of his younger brother's life, maybe even go further and stop him from going on that journey with Ash and Iris in the first place.

With a sigh, Cress pushed his chair back and stood up. He couldn't have spent more than fifteen minutes in the cold, bare room, but he felt suffocated. Two months in a hospital and there was no recovery, hardly even a sign that it was still possible. Dare he say it, but he was quickly losing hope.

Giving one last glance to his frail brother sitting at the table, Cress picked up his coat lying nearby and headed for the door.

"Goodbye, Cilan."

* * *

><p>What happened to him? Something terrible, is all I really know or can say. Might do a follow-up or a prequel in the future, only time will tell.<p> 


End file.
